Help To Motivate Yourself and Stay Motivated

Originally Posted: Oct 25, 2014

These 7 tips can help you get started and stay on track.      

• Set goals and plan of action.   
• Break down your goals into small manageable chunks
• Be accountable to others
• Get support
• Reward yourself
• Visualise success
• Ensure you can deal with challenges and obstacles

SET GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

If you want to achieve your goals then it helps if you know how to get there! Remember the saying “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!”

On my hypnotherapy training courses I teach my students about setting goals and objectives.

Goals are general statements of intent. Goals tell us what we want to
achieve at some future time.

Objectives are more specific than goals. Objectives may also be viewed as statements of intention which, when carried out, will enable the goals to be achieved.

So, for example, let’s suppose that my goal is to run a 26 mile marathon in April of next year, and I don’t currently do any running. The objectives could include deciding what equipment I would need to buy and by when; setting an initial training programme; and setting a target of running 5 miles non-stop by one-month from now.

CHUNKING

If you set your goals high, or think that it will be difficult to achieve them, then break them down into small manageable chunks. For example, if I’d never run a marathon before I wouldn’t start by actually going out and trying to run 26 miles. I’d start by running, say, 30 minutes a day (if that was what I was capable of) and then build up the time and length over the period leading up to the marathon.

BE ACCOUNTABLE TO OTHERS

Don’t keep your goals a secret. Let others know about them. Tell your friends and family if you feel they will be supportive. They may give you encouragement. The guilt of potentially letting them down may also keep you motivated.

GET SUPPORT

Where appropriate get yourself a mentor to help you, or join a support group. For example, with the example of running a marathon, perhaps get a personal trainer or join a running club.

REGULARLY REWARD YOURSELF

Build a reward into your plan. So for example after achieving each objective along the way give yourself a reward or treat. The reward may be relative to the goal that you’ve set.

VISUALISE SUCCESS

When you imagine something vividly, to your subconscious mind it’s as if it is real

So when you imagine achieving your goal you are programming your mind for success.

You don’t need to be visual – not everyone is.

There was a case mentioned by Maxwell Maltz in his book Psycho-Cybernetics where the coach of a basketball team asked one-third of his team to go home and imagine shooting hoops rather than practising on court, one third to go home and do nothing, and one-third to practice on court. When the team assembled at the end of the week, those who did no practice did the worse, whereas those who practised in their imagination did as well as those who actually practised on court!.

ENSURE YOU CAN DEAL WITH CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES

We all get challenges in life. If only life was perfect! So plan what you’d do if something didn’t go quite as intended. Use your imagination to imagine obstacles and challenges and imagine yourself overcoming them and achieving your goal.